Tune-selector for automatic pianos



R. l. WILCOX. TUNE SELECTOR FOR AUTOMATIC PIANOS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 31.1918.

1,398,988, Patented Dec. 6, 1921.

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Patented Dec. 6,1921.

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R. l. WILCOX.

TUNE SELECTOR FOR AUTOMATIC PIANOS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 31.1918.

Patented Dec. 6, 1921.

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' APPLICATION FILED JULY 31.1918.

Patented Dec. 6, 1921.v

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TUNE SELECTOR FOR AUTOMATIC PIANOS.

APPLICATION HLED JULY 31,1918. 1 398 988 Patented Dec. 6,1921.

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APPLICATION FILED JULY 31,1918.

' Patented Dec. 6, 1921.

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TUNE SELECTOR FOR AUTOMATIC PIANOS. APPLICATION HLED JULY 31.1918.

Patented Dec. 6, 1921.

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RUSSELL I. WZLCOX, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOE TO THE MAEQUETTE PIANO COMPANY, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A COR-PORATION OE MICHIGAN.

TUNE-SELECTOR FOR AUTOMATIC PIANOS.

Application filed July 31,

To (.(ZZ 10. mm it may concern:

Be it known that I, Russnm. I. VVILOOX, a citizen of the United States, residing at C cage, in the county of Cool: and State or .tilinois, have invented certain new and uset'ul improvements in Tune-Selectors for Automatic Pianos, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to automatic or self-playing pianos of the pneumatic type which are controlled by perforated music sheet.

The object of the present invention is to provide an instrument capable of playing 21- plurality of selections on a single sheet or roll and having improved mechanism for selecting and playing any tune on the sheet at will. The present invention may be re- I garded as an improvement of my former invcntions as illustrated and described in patents granted to me, Nos. 1,110,172 dated September 8, 191a, and 1,2339% dated July 17th, 1917.

By the simple setting of an indicator and starting by means of coin, orotherwise, any selection on the music sheet will be played. The mechanism comprises winding devices which operate in either direction rapidly until the desired selection is reached, after which the selection will he played at a reduced and proper speed. The special object of the present invention is to provide an automatic control valve, which will keep in perfect step with the music roll, and automatically and accurately control the operation of the instrument. This is accomplished by a novel setting mechanism for the dial of the indicator which sets the numbers on said dial in precise cooperative relation with the location of the beginning of the various tunes, or selections, on the music sheet. The automatic valve is geared to the hottom or take-up roll and is connected with a pointer associated with said dial. It is, of course, understood that various tunes have dii A 2 lengths and that their starting poi are not uniformly eistributed throughout the length of the sheet. In my impr ved mechanism the music sheet itself used to control the operation of the setting mechanism, and hence after being initially set the initial portion of each tune will pass the tracler-har simultaneously with Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 6, 1921 1918. Serial No. 247,520.

the arrival 01 a valve port at the selected numbers on the dial. A further object is to improve the operation of the instrument he matter of rotation playing, in which it ill play the pieces of music through to no end of the music sheet when not set for selection. A further object is to simplify and perfect the transmission mechanism for driving the music rolls by the motor, in which said rolls may be wound rapidly forward, re-wound rapidly in a reverse direction, and then wound slowly forward to play.

Other objects and advantages of my improved mechanism will be rendered apparent in the following specification when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a general view of the instrument in which some of the essential parts of my invention are shown in a more or less diagrammatic form;

2 shows a portion of the music sheet, rmediate portions being broken away in order that the ends and essential features he shown; lg. 3 is a front elevation of the music sh et rolls and operating mechanism;

W at is a side elevation thereof;

5 is a detail in sectio-n'ol a valve asso- .atom with said mechanism, said section betalren on the line llof Fig. 4:;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the automatic control valve and its indicator and associated parts;

Fig. is a plan view of the same;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 9 is longitudinal section of the same;

10 is a transverse section of the same taken along the line 101O of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a detailed View of the face of the automatic disk of the control valve;

11 is a detail of a valve operating spring;

i 12 is av front elevation of the forward or hand-operated disk of said control valve;

Fig". 18 is a rearelevation of a fragment of said hand-operated disk;

Fig. 14 is a cross-section of said valve taken substantially along the line 1%14 of Fig. 9; i

Fig. 15 is a valve immediately behind the indicator disk, said view being a section substantially along the line 1515 of Fig. 9;

7 disk of said cut-E valve, being viewed from the rear;

F 1g. 18 1S a perspective view of said outer disk, being viewed from the front;

Fig. 19 is a detailed elevation .of..0ne,of the adjustable indicator blocks or numbered segments;

Fig. 20 iswa side elevation of the same;

Fig. 21 is a rear elevation of the same;

Fig. 22 is a front elevation of the tenth or last indicator box in the series;

Fig. 23 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 24is .a rear'elevation of the same;

Fig. 25 is a vertical section through a portion of the transmission mechanism which drives the rolls, said section being substantially along the line 25.25 .of Fig.4;

Fig. 26 is a plan view .of a portion of said mechanism, said view being practically .a horizontal section view taken along the'line 26-26 of Fig. 25;

Fig. 27 is aperspective' view of a lever in said transmission mechanism;

Fig. 28 is a perspective view of another lever in said mechanism; 7

Fig. 29 is a front elevation with portions I broken away of the cut-out block for the automatic control valve;

' Fig. 30 is a transverse section. of .the same substantially .along thexline 30-30 of Fig. 29; 7

Fig. 31 is a diagrammatic view of the ing pneumatics, the primary valve box, the tracker-bar, and the various tubular connections between said parts, the rewind pneumatics being shown as turned 90 from their normalposition;

'Fig. 32 is a transverse section of the ,cutin valve for theautomatic number setting mechanism, said view being a section along the line -3232 of Fig. 6;

3-3 is a similar view rotated to another position;

Fig. 34 is a sectional view of another valve associated with the valve shown in Fig. 32 for keeping the bleed line open controlling the cut-out block, said view being a section along the line (i l 3 1- of Fig. .6;

Fig. is a sectional view of the same valve when rotated to another position;

Fig. 36 is a detailed view partly insection .of the primary valve box;

"Fig. 37 is a cross-section of the same along the line 37-37 of Fig.;-36;

Fig. 38 is a vertical sectional view of the main pneumatic action cut-oft valve Fig. 39 is a side elevation of the same;

with the valve automatic control .valve, rewind and shift- Fig. 410 is a .cross-section of the rewind supply box; and

Fig. 41 is a front elevation of the same.

do not form'a part of the present invention they are not shown or described.

By referring to Fig. 1, which is chiefly diagrammatic, .it will be seen that I have I provided the usual air-motor 1 which is controlled by the throttle valve 2, operated in the usual manner by mechanism not illustrated in the drawings. The tube 3 leads trom said motor through said valve to the suction chaniberof the valve box 4, in which the usual :red-uced air pressure is maintained by the .exhauster .5 operated by a motor 6. The valve box a is ordinarily termed the main pneumatic notion cut-off valve, atube Tieadingfrom said valve to the main pneumatic action, the vdetailsgof which are not shown in the drawings as they form no part of my present invention. 5

T he cut-.out .valve A: is ,actuated when a tube .8 leading to its lower ,chamber 8*, Fig. 38, is open to air. This condition occurs when the machine is rewindi-ng and when a small flapper valve, (see Figs. .4 and 5) act-uatedvby a shifter pneumatic 16 in the 'ransmission mechanism at -.9, Fig. 1, is open. The roll winding mechanism is indicated generally at 10, Fig. 1, and controlled by an automatic valve 11, said valve forming an important part of my present invention, andqbeing described fully later. indicated a primary valve box for controlling various-parts of th mechani m A 13 isindieated the rewindsupply box which bypasses the throttle valve 2 when rewinding occurs and when the full supply of air'is needed. A branch tube 13* leads from the tube 3 to said sup ly box, and .a tube 11" leads from said supply box directly to the motor; The above ngraybe regarded as an outline of some of the essential parts in an instrument in which my present invention is I occurs. either forwardly .orbaekwardly when not-playing. The prec1se functions of the pneiunatics 14, 15 and 16 will :be more fully described later, but it may be said for the present that the forward rewind pneumatic. 1e, when actuated, sets certain gearing in a position to cause the music sheetto be wound forwardlyat a fast speed, and the reverse rewind pneumatic 15 sets said gearing to cause the music sheet to be wound in the res verse direct-ion at a fast speed. The shifter pneumatic 16, when actuated, will set the gearing to wind the music sheet forwardly at a slower rate of speed to play. The music sheet, portions of which are shown in Fig. 2, is provided with series of cuttings 17 at the be inning of each selection which pass over the opening 19 in the tracker-bar 10. These cuttings, together with the cutting 17 near the end of the sheet, are the rewind cuttings and control the fast winding of the music sheet in either direction in accordance with the relative position of the disks in the controlvalve 11. The music sheet also is provided with a series of cuttings 17 near the opposite edge of the sheet, and at the beginning of selection, which pass over an opening 18 inthe tracker-bar 10 The open-' ing 18 controls the shifter pneumatic 16 whic through mechanism to be later described, throws the gearing into a position which causes it to wind the music sheet slowly forward to play. The music sheet is provided with a single independent cutting 17 at the very. end which passes over an opening 19 in the tracker-bar, said opening being so connected as to operate the reverse pneumatic 15 when the control valve 11 has been cut out of action by means which will be described later. Themusic sheet also contains a cutting 17 at its beginning which passes over an opening 18 in the trackerbar, said opening operating the shifter pneumatic 16 to set said gearing to wind said music sheet slowly forward to play, after which all of the selections on the music sheet will'be played in rotation. It will therefore be seen that my improved instrument will be operated by what may be termed foursets of cuttings in the music sheet, these cuttings being numbered, first, '17 and 17 which serve as the automatic rewindcutting; second, the

independent rewind cutting 17 ,which starts the reverse rewinding of the sheet when the automatic control valve has been cut out; third, the cuttings 17, which control the forward slow speed of the sheet when the au- .tomatic control valve is in action; fourth, the

ner in order that the operation of the mechanism may be more easily understood when later described. Again, speaking generally, it may be mentioned that these cuttings in the music sheet may be divided into two groups, for convenience, one of the groups 17, 17", 17 being those which control the automatic selection of the tunes to be played, while the other group 17 17 control the rewind and shifting mechanism when the automatic control valve is cut out and the machine is playing in rotation. Referring again to these four lines of cuttings in the music sheet, it will be seen that they control the entire operation of the machine by means of openings 18, 18, 19, 19

Taking first the opening 18, it will be seen to be connected by means of the tube 20 to a cut-out box 21 (to be described later), then by the tube 22 to a port, or aperture, 23in the forward disk 24 (Fig. 9) of the automatic control valve 11. This disk 24 is fixed to a shaft 25, to which is also fixed the setting knob 0r handle 26. The port 23 is made to register with a corresponding port 27 when they are brought together in the operation of the instrument, in the rear disk 28. This disk 28 is rotatably mounted upon its supports and is driven by a gear 29, which in turn is driven by a worm 30 on the shaft 31. This shaft 31 carries a gear 32 which meshes with and is driven by a pinion 33 fixed to the shaft 34 of the lower winding roll 35. The gear 32 is yieldably mounted on the shaft 31 by means of a friction disk 36 against which said gear is pressed by a spring 37. The friction disk 36 will be understood'to be fixed to the shaft 31.

The port 27, in the disk 28, communicates through the tube 38 with the particular valve mechanism in the primary box 12, which controls the exhausting of air from the tube 39 leading to the shifter pneumatic 16. The valve mechanism in the primary box 12 is similar to that commonly employed in pneumatic pianos and will be briefly described later.

The opening 19 in the tracker-bar is connected, by the tube 40, the cut-out box 21, and tube 41, to a port, or passage, 42, in the forward disk 24 of the automatic control valve 11. This port is made to open into either of two semi-circular channels 45 or 45 in the rear disk 28 of said control valve. Eithe one of these channels may be connected with the. port 42, depending upon the position of the disk 24 as set by the setting knob 26. The channel 45 is connected by means of the opening 43 and the tube 46 with the particular valve mechanism in the primary box 12, which con trols the exhausting of air through the tube 47 from the reverse rewinding pneumatic 15. The channel 45 is connected through the opening 44 and tube 48 to similar valve mechanism in the primary box 12, which controls the exhaustion of air through the tube 49 from the forward rewind pneumatic 14.

The primary box 12 comprises phragms 50 in the lower part of the suction dia- means of the channel 55 and tube 47 to the particular pneumatic to which it may be connected.

It will be seen that the automatic. valve 7 11 comprises two disks, one of them '28 having a movement corresponding the movement of the music sheet, while the other 24 base position determined 'by the operator when setting the instrument 'IO play a desired selection, 'This setting is made by turning the handle 26,"which moves a pointer around'adial 69. 1 The pointer 60 is carried by a hub 61 which is secured to the shaft 25 by a'set-screw The dial comprises a disk 63 mounted on the shaft 25 and held :against rotation by :a 'piny64; which engages anarm 65 supporting the forward portion ofthe control valve. This arm is secured to the frame of the 'winding roll mechanism at 70. The disk 63 has'a groove 66 in its periphery, in which are.

fitted numbered blocks or segments 67, and which are retained in said groove by :a :band GSsecure-d'at Hand 72 to said disk63. The spring 73, recessed in said block, presses the block radially inward. The disk-'24 carries a pin/7a which strikes a stop element '75 when the disk is rotated in one direction, and the tube connections or sleeves 76'st-rike the stop when-the disk is rotated in the op pcsite direction. The stop 75 will therefore be seen to limit the movement of the pointer 60 in either direction. The stopelement 7 5 is looped around the shaft 25 at 77 and is caused to frictionall-y engage said shaft by a screw 78. gagement prevents looseness of the shaft 25 and retains the pointer 60 in :any position in which it maybe set.

The shaft 25 also carries a cut-out valve disk '79 which is secured thereto by the set screw 80. This cut-out valve disk is concentrically mounted within a second, or outer, disk 81, .said latter disk being provided with a pin or arm 82 which is engaged by twosmallpins 82 and 82 on the rear face of thezdial block numbered 10. The rotative p'osition'therefore of the disk 81 is1determined by the position of the dial block 10; ln-the inner face of the disk 81 is a valve opening 88 communicating with a tube 84leading eventually to and controllingthe cu -out block 21 through-tubes 87 and 88.

p The said cut-out block has the purpose of.

cutting out the entire automatic control valve when the last tune on. the musicsheet has been :played; covered and uncovered by 'a fiange85- on the disk 79, said flange being segmental, as shown in Fig.- .16. One of the radial edges 86 of saidfiangeopens and. closes the, port This frictional en- The valve port 83 ismesses "83, asthe case may he, depending upon the The cut-out block 21 comprises a front or,

main'body 90, to the back of which is secured a hollow member90. The chamber 89. in said member is connected-with its re- 7 spectiwe controlling members in the primary and 90 is a flexible sheet or :diaphragm91 'securedly glued around the edges. The

box 12by a .tube 88. Between the pieces 90 block 90 receives the ends .of the tubes 40 and i1 which open at their inner ends at the inner face of :the block 90, and are therefore closed by the diaphragm 91 when suctionin the chamber '89 iszremoved, and air' perm-itted to flow therein. j When the automatic control valve has been cut out of action, by the cut-.out block 21, suction through tube 88- being cut off by' the .;fiange 85, the cuttings 17 17 b and 17 in the-music sheet are no longer capable ofcontrolling the operation of the machine, and the cuttings 1'7 and 17 are then brought int-owaction. These latter cuttings register with the openings .18 and 19 The opening 18* is connectefdby the tube 1'8 with the tube-8.8 at 18?, this tube leading to the particular valve mechanism in the primary.

box l2iwhich controls the suction in the tube 39 leading to the shifter pneumatic 16. The

mechanism is cut out .that'the openings 18 and 19 control the operation of the shifter pneumatic" l6 and the reverse rewind pneumatic 115, respectively. In this condition of the instrument, :the tunes .on the music sheet will be playedin rotation until the iend'isreached, when the independent re-' a wind cutting 17 Wlll come into communication with the opening 19 1 In order that the automatic rewinds may be kept outof operation during rotation playing, from the selected tune tot-he end, the two disks 24c and 28 are made to travel together by the following means. The disk 7 28 carries :afiat spring 92 secured by screws 92 said spring having a beveled or-inclined end 93 which is adapted to engage'a shoulderilt on the disk .24. This engagement will be strong-enough to .causelonedisk to drive the other, but will allow asetting of the disk rotate 1n continued rotation playing with-v .2 1- wheniselecting a tunein the tune selectout disturbing the forward disk 24. During this simultaneous movement the bridge 28 lies over and cuts off the port 42.

In order that the movement of the disk 28 may be in unison with the movement of the music sheet while said sheet increases in speed, due to its being wound upon itself upon the lower roll, I have provided an eccentric mounting for the gear 29 which drives said disk 28. An eccentric 99 is provided which is secured by a set screw 100 to a sleeve 103 supported by the arm 101 carried by the main frame. The sleeve 103 receives the reduced portion 102 of the shaft 25, a collar 103 being secured to said reduced portion to retain the shaft 25 in position. The gear 29 is loosely mounted in a recess at 10 1 in said eccentric. The disk 28 carries a pin 105 which slides in radial slot 106 in the gear 29. The eccentric position of the gear will cause a gradually increasing speed in the disk by changing the radial position of the pin in the slot. This enables me to drive the disks at a relatively slow speed when the roll is starting and more turns on the winding roll represent one tune so that the disk 28 moves the same distance approximately. for each tune assuming the same length of the roll per tune. The gear wheel is limited in its movement in either direction by pins 95 and 96 which engage pins 97 and 98, respectively, in collars on the drive. shaft 30.

It is, of course, necessary to reset the numbered blocks 67 on the dial when a new roll is placed in the machine. I perform this resetting automatically in my improved mechanism by making the cuttings in the music sheet itself perform this duty. The series of rewinding cuttings 17-17 are used for this purpose and are operatively connected with a small resetting pneumatic 111 by the small cut-in valve 86, to be described further presently. This small resetting pneumatic 111 actuates a resetting bar 108 which is mounted, by radial arms 109, 109 loosely on the shaft 25. This mounting permits both a rotational and longitudinal movement. An arm 112 secured to the movable member of the pneumatic is adapted to engage the arm 109' and produce a longitudinal movement of the setting bar every time a rewind cutting '17 passes the opening 19 in the tracker bar. The bar 108 is provided with a reduced portion, or lug. 110 at its end which engages small pins 67 on the rear faces of said blocks. The bar 108 is c riven in a rotary direction by the pin 113 secured to the disk 28 and working in a slot 114% in said bar. A spring 115, secured to said pin at one end and at the other end to the arm carrying said bar. produces a constant tendency in said bar to move forwardly into engagement with the P e 7% small l t h H6; eem dtc the bar 1.08 and provided with an aperture 11?, engages the pin 118 in its rearmost position and holds the bar 108 back until it has been released by hand.

The bar 108 carries a downwardly projecting arm 118, which is adapted to engage a flange 119 and prevent the latch 116 engaging the pin 113, except at such times as when the resetting arm 108 is at the end of its rotary movement. The flange 119 has a limited length, as shown clearly in Figs. 15, 17 and 18. It will be observed that the end 120 of said flange has a position not far removed from the pin or arm 82 in the valve disk 81. The pin 82 has a position between the two pins 82 and 82 on the rear of the 10 dial block. The dial block 10 will therefore be seen to determine the position of the valve disk 81 and therefore to determine the position of the end 120 of said flange. The ending of said flange at this point will permit the resetting bar 108 to move back far enough to become latched upon the pin 118 when the resetting bar has reached the 10 dial block in the resetting operations, as will be described later when describing the operation of my instrument in detail. In like manner, the flange 119 is limited at its other end 121 to a certain length, in order to permit the forward movement of the resetting bar 108 into operative relation to the dial blocks during the resetting operation. The position of the edge 121 is so placed that it prevents the return and latching of the resetting bar 108 immediately after the instrument has been started and the disk 28 has begun to produce a rotary motion in said resetting bar. The position of the edge 120, however, is determined by the position of dial block 10 regardless of where said dial block may be. The width of said dial blocks 67, in the circumferential direction, is, of course, made less than the movement of the pointer will be for any tune of short length on the music sheet.

The pneumatic 111 is connected with the tube 49 leading to the forward rewind pneumatic lat by the cut-in valve 86 heretofore mentioned. This valve 86 is provided with two series of ports, one of which series is used for cutting in said pneumatic, this series of ports being shown in section in Figs. 32 and 33. A. tube 122 leads from the pneumatic to a channel 123 in the valve casing, and is connected to a channel 12a leading to a tube 125, and thence to the tube as, which leads to the forward rewind pneumatic 1 1. The port, or channel, 126 in the rotary member 86 in said valve connects said tubes 122 and 125 when said pneumatic is put into operation for initial setting (see Fig. 33). The said channel 123 connects the tube 122 with an outlet port 127 when said pneumatic is cut out of action and hence the conn cti n wi h said tube 125 is an 1. e

F ig. 32). The valve member 86* is provided with a handle .or knob. 128. When said pneumatic is cut in, as above described, it is in operative relation to the opening 19 in the tracker-bar. The valve 86 is made to keep the out out block 21 open by connecting the tube 87 with the outside air, as shown in Fig. 35. Figs. 34 and 35 are sectional views of the valve 86 showing saidvalve in two positions identical with the positions shown in Figs. 32 and 33, respectively. In the upper position, Fin". 34, the tube 84 isconnected with the tube 87 in order that the cut-out valve 86 will not affect the tune selecting control valve 11. But in the resetting positionshown in Figs. and 33, the automat'iccontrol is cut in to permit the pneumatic 111 to be actuated by the impulses imparted to the forwardly winding pneumatic 14 in the following manner: The port 86 connecting with the tube 87 per mits air to flow to box 12, whereupon the tube 88 will transmit suction to the cut-out box 21, throwing the tracker-bar opening 19 through the tube 40 into communication with the tube 41. Previous to initial setting, the'pointer is moved to the farthest limit beyond the block 10, wnieh insures communication of the tube 41 through the port 42 with the tube48 through the medium of the port 44 and groove 45. The tube 48 controls communication with the pneumatic 111 through the tube 125, through control box 12 and tube 49. It will thus beobvious that whent'he forward rewind cuttings. pass over the tracker-bar openng will be transmitted to the pneumatic 111 as well as the pneumatic 14, which latter merely functions without effect. As mentioned above, the forward valve disk 24 is moved to the extreme right in order that the port 42 may be in constant communication with the forward rewind channel 45 in the rear valve disk 28 during the resetting operations.

The music sheet is wound upon the usual rollers35 and 129 carried by the shafts 34 and 130, respectively. Secured to one end ofthe shaft 130 is a gear 131, and secured to the shaft 34 is a similar gear 132. An idler gear 133 is mounted upon a stub shaft 134 secured to the frame and meshes with the lower side of the gear 131. r A suitable gear 1.35, drivenby the motor, is secured to the 19 impulses by an arm 144rigidly secured to it, (see Fig. 4) said-arm 144 being in turn actuated in one direction or the other by the rewind pneumatics 14-15,"by means ofthe intermediate reciprocating rod 144 having a bent end 144 and a coacting nut 144 engaging said 144, as shown in Figs. 25 and 26.

The swinging arm 141 may be retained in either its two extreme positions, as will:

be described below, in which positions the gear mav be meshed with either the'gear t I q 132 or the idler gear. 133.

carried bye. lever 149, which roller is adapted to bear upon the inclined faces 147 and 148 at'the end of such arm, (see Figs. 28 and t). The lever is pivotally mountedat 150, and is pulled tothe right at its upper end by a spring 151, which is secured to a suitable support or anchorage 152. The tension of the spring 151 will therefore be seento be the means of retaining the armin either position. The spring, however,is weak enough to permit the rewindpneumatics 1415 to overcome its tension when wedging the roller away from the ends of the lever when the arm 141 swings in either direction.

In the preceding mechanism, provision has been made for winding the music. sheet in either direction at a high speed. It is, of course, desirable to wind the music sheet forwardly ata low speed while the instrument is playinga tune. The gearing for thispurpose comprises a small pinion 156 on the shaft which is adapted to mesh with and drive an internal gear 157 rotatably mounted upon the stub shaft 158. This latter shaft is carried bya second swinging arm 159 which is pivotally mounted upon the stub shaft 43 adjacent the first swinging arm 141. Secured to the hub of the internal gear 157 is. a spur gear 160 which meshes with a large gear 161 secured to the shaft 34 of the lower roll. The above train of gearing, comprising the pinion 156, internal gear 157, pinion 160 and gear 161, forms a low speed gearing for driving the shaft 34 forwardly at a proper speed to play the tune. This latter gearing is moved into operative relation with said lowerg'ear 161 by a coil spring 162*. The arm 159 is pulled downwardlyby the coil springattached to the arm 159 at 162 the other end of which is attached to a pin-projecting from the music roll rame at 162, about two inches beiow and is stopped by a pin 165 projecting from/the frame through the slot 162"' in the arm 159. A pin 164 also projects from the inside wing of the arm 141 into the slot 162 of the arm 159, (see Figs. 26 and 27). The spring 162 presses under the pin 164 secured to the arm 141, the other end of which spring is resisted by resting on top of the arm 159 at 162 If the shifter pneumatic 16 collapses so as to push the lever 149, by the rod 154 engaging the lever 149 at 154*, to the left, so that its roller 146 will not interfere, then the lever 141 will obviously fly into a mid-position, that is where the prong 166 is resting on the pin 165 and where the pin 164 is resting upwardly on a prong 167. This is the playing position in which the pinion 156 meshes with the internal gear 157 and where the pinion 160 meshes with the large gear 161. The spring 162 has a tendency to retain the parts in the playing position because of its downward pull on the lever 159.

The shifter pneumatic is also adapted to operate a small valve 168 which covers and uncovers two ports 169 and 170 in the valve block 171. The valve 168 is pushed open by the rod 154 when the pneumatic 16 is opened by the tension of thespring 151 and the suction within said pneumatic is removed. Then the pneumatic 16 is actuated, or closed, the elasticity of the valve member 168 causes it to close upon the two ports 169 and 170. This valve has been referred to before as controlling the operations of the valve be 4 and the rewind supply box 13?. \Vhen said valve 168 is open, pressure is admitted to the lower chamber 8 through the tube 8, the diaphragm 8 being adapted to lift andcause the valve 172 to close the aperture 173. This aperture leads from the suction chamber 174 to the chamber 17 5, and thence through the tube 7 to the main pneumatic action, not shown in the drawings. .he outlet valve 176 is carried by the same stem 177 as carried the valve 172, and the outlet 178 leads from the chamber 175 to the outside air, thereby relievin the pressure in the main action pneumatics when this cut-out valve is operated. A bleed passage 179 and the small bleed aperture 180 permit the suction to reach into the lower chamber 8 and pull down the diaphragm when the small valve port 169 is closed. In a similar manner the valve 168 opens and closes the port 17 0, open to the tube 13, and

' leading to the lower chamber 181 of the rewind supply box 13*. lVhen said port is open, the pressure in the said chamber raises the diaphragm 182 and opens the valve 183, thus causing the suction chamber to be opened to the tube 11 leading to the air motor 1. The bleed passage 185, controlled by the screw 186, permits suction to be restored in the chamber 182 when the valve is closed. The suction chamber is connected with the suction chamber of the valve box 4 (Fig. 38) by the small tube 13, which is joined to the tube 3 at 13, the latter tube leading to said valve box. The purpose of the above is to throw full suction effect on the motor 1, eliminating throttling by the box 2 and causing full speed. The chamber 174 will be seen to be connected with the main exhauster 5 by the tube 5 in the usual manner.

In order to provide means for manually adjusting the gearing which connects the air motor with the music rolls S5 and 129, I provide a small lever 187 pivotally attached at 188 to the fram and having a lug 189 at its inner end which engages the upper tongue 166 of the lover 159 and permits the operator to raise said lever and disconnect the gearing from the bottom roll; this permits the rolls to be operated manually.

The operation of my improved mechanism has been largely referred to in the foregoing description, but the following outline of its use in practice is added. Assuming that the dial blocks 67 have been properly set, the pointer 60 is moved to the number selected, the handle or knob 26 being used for that purpose. Supposing the number 5 has been selected and that the pointer previously had a position at the right end of the dial, 2'. e. from 6 to 10, the setting movement of the pointer would cause the forward disk 24 to move to the left. This movement will cause the valve port 42 to come into communication wi h the semi-circular channel 45 in the rear valve disk 28, (see Fig. 10, for example). Communication will then be made from the tracker-bar opening 19 through the tube 40, cut-out block 21, tube 41, opening 42, channel 45, opening 43. and tube 46 to the primary box 12 (see Fig. 81). This will operate the particular valve mechanism in said primary box which admits suction to the tube 47 leading to the reverse,

rewind pneumatic 15. This reverse pneumatic will then close upon passage of cuttings 17 or 17 over the tracker-bar opening 19 and operate the lever 14%- to throw the lever 141 to a position in which the gear 185 will mesh with the idler The idler in turn will drive the gear 131 and cause a rapid rewinding movement of the music sheet. The rewin-ding will continue until the valve opening 27 in the rear disk, driven by the worm 30, reaches the valve opening 23 in the forward disk, when the shifter pneumatic opening 18 in the tracher-barwill be in operative relation with the shifter pneumatic 16. This operative relation will. comprise the connection through said opening 18, the tube 20, cut-out block 21, tube 22, opening 23 in the forward disk, opening 27 in the rear disk, tube 38, and the particular valve mechanism in the primary box 12, which controls the suction in the tube 3 leading t the shifter pneumatic 16. The

r moved to a position in connection with the shifter pneumatic 16 will then be closedby the'suction and will cause aforward'push upon the rod 154,. which will tilt the lever 149'int'o such a position that the roller 146 will allow the lever 141 to assume an intermediate position. This. intermediate positionwill be due to the downward tension of the spring 162 which draws the lever 159 against the pin 165. at 165 The upward pressure of the spring 162 on the pin 164 will hold the gear 135 out of mesh with the gear 132,.but will mesh the pinion 156 with the internal gear 157 forplaying drive. In said: position the gear 135" will have moved downwardly out of mesh with I the idler 133, At the. same time the" gear 160 will be al-' lowedzto'enga'ge the gear 161. The motor will then'be free .todrive the' music sheet forwardly through the pinion 156, internal gear. 157'andsaid gears 160 and 161. The mechanism will then be in condition to wind the sheet slowly forward to play. Simultaneously with the connection of the openings 231and27 in the'two disksof the control valve, the valve opening. 42 in the forward disk will reach the blank space 28 on the rear-disk, and further operation ofithe rewinding mechanism. will be prevented. At

the same time, the yielding spring 93 will engage the shoulder 94', andthe rear disk will drive the forwarddisk forwardlyuntil' the tune has been completed, whereupon the usual stop mec'hanismwill cause. the machine to stop playing, if a coin actuated machine or if extracoinslhave been inserted, the

I chine will play on in rotation.

Fora further example, suppose that we now set the pointer at number 8 on the dial before tune 5' has been passed-the valve opening 42in the forwarddisk will then be forward rewind channel 45 and the forward rewind pneumatic 14 will be actuated in a manner similar to that described in connection with the reverse pneumatic 15 in the preceding example. In this example, however, the operation is. slightlyditferent in the matter of the spring 93, which is forced over the shoulder 94 in the'operation of setting. During the. automatic rewinding, the rear disk 28 movesto a position in which the spring 93 again engages the shoulder 94 and in which bridge 28 closes the port 42.

Should-it be desired to play the next tune on the music sheet without selecting any particular one, it is merely necessary to start the machine, whereuponthe said tune will be played, the rear disk 28 driving the forward disk 24 bymeans of the spring 93. In like manner, the remainder of'th'e tunes on the music sheet may be played in rotation; to the end of the sheet. When're'aching the end, the pointer will have passed the block numbered1'0. At this time" the cut-out valve 8 loses the pening 3'l 'adingtOthe tube 'nsesgess 84',- andthe-en'tire automatic control valve 11 isicut out of action. Thisis due'tothe suction being established in the tube 84 leading through the valve 86, and the tube 87, tothe particular valve mechanism in the primary boX 12, which cuts off suction in the tube 88 and: cut-out block 21. The pressure enters the chamber 89 in said block and causes the diaphragm 91 to close the openings leading to the tubes 40, 41, 20 and 22. lVhen thus closed, it is clear that no further action can occur in the automatic control valve 11.

After theautomatic control valve 11,however, has been cut out, as above described, the tunes on the music sheet can be played 7 in rotation from beginning to'end, and reforwardplaying mechanism isthen actu-.

ated, the connection then being through the tube 18 to the iuncture18 with the tube 38 and then :tothe particular valve mechanlsm 1n theprimary. box 12 WlllCll controls the suction'in the tube 39,.leading to the shifter pneumatic 16,;which actuates the lever 149 and'meshes the gears as described above. The forward playing of the music sheet thenoccurs and the first tune is played until the stop mechanism at the end of said tune stops the machine. The insertion of another coin in the slot mechanism, or otherwise starting the machine, causes the music sheet to continue its movement in the forward direction until the second tune has been played inthesame manner; In this manner all tlie'tunes 'onthe music sheet may be played in rotation repeatedly. until the automatic control valve 11 has been again put into action. This is accomplished by simply'settingthe pointer 60 to the desired number on the dial, whereupon the selected tune willbe played in the manner previously described; a 1 7 hen it is'desired to insert and play a new music sheet," it is necessary to set the numbers on the dial, so that their relative spacing will correspond to the lengths of the tunes on the music sheet. This is necesthe previous sheet has been reversely wound ontoithe upper roll and that the rewindingmovem nt of said upper rollJhastausedthe rear disk, 28 to be moved as far to the left as it will go, the new roll is inserted in place with its end engaging the lower roll. T he pointer is then turned to the right as far it will go. This position of the pointer causes the valve opening 12 in the forward disk to be in communication with the semicircular channel 153 in the rear disk, and to remain in connection therewith throughout the entire movement of the rear disk to the right in the following operation of resetting.

The cut-in valve 86 is then rotated by means of the handle 128 until said valve has the positions illustrated in Figs. 33 and 35. The setting pneumatic 111 is thus placed in operative connection with the tube 19 lead ing to the forward rewind pneumatic 14. When this connection is established, it is clear that the pneumatic 111 will operate every time that the pneumatic 14 operates, and the pneumatic 141, is, of course, operated by the cuttings 17 when they pass over the opening 19 in the tracker-bar. hen the valve 86 is set, as above described, the cutout block 21 will then be open, since the opening 86 admits air to the tube 87, which will permit communication between the tracker-bar opening 19 and the opening 42 in the forward disk and channel a5 in the rear disk through the tubes leading thereto and to the primary box 12 controlling the suction in the tube 49.

The segment blocks in the dial are then all pushed to the left by hand as far as they will go. Then they will, of course, be in contact with each other. The small lever 187 may then be operated to place the transmission gearing into operative relation with the forward winding roll. The latch 116 is then released from the pin 113, whereupon the spring 115 will throw the reset ting bar 108 forward until the reduced end or lug 110 on said bar comes into operative relation with the pins 67* on the dial blocks. The machine is then started and the music sheet is wound forwardly until the first cutting 17 reaches the opening 19 in the tracker-bar, when the bar 108 will be moved backwardly by the pneumatic 111. During this time, the said bar is being moved toward the right because of its connection with the disk 128 by the pin 113. This initial rotary motion, caused by the winding of the music sheet, causes it to push the first dial block forwardly a short distance until the first cutting 1'7 pulls the bar 108 back. The backward movement is now limited by the flange 119. When the cutting has passed the trackerbar opening 19*, the pneumatic 111 will. of course, be open and the bar 108 will be free to move forwardly again, but in the meantime it has advanced far enough to the right to engage the end of the pin on the first dial block, and it will slide along said pin because of its rotary motion until it drops behind it. After the bar has passed the first pin, as above described, its rotary motion to the right causes it to engage the second pin, and, in like manner,,each of the following pins until they are all placed in positions corresponding exactly with the variable spaces between the cuttings 17 on the music sheet. When the last dial block 10 has been positioned, the small arm 118 on the resetting bar is free to pass beyond the flange 119, thereby allowing the resetting bar 108 to move rearwardly to a position where the latch 116 engages the pin 113. Previous to this time, during the resetting operations the rearward motion of the bar 108 was limited by the flange 119 in each backward movement thereof, and the initial portion of said flange 119 prevented the backward movement of said bar after the setting of the first block had been accomplished, this being due to the slight rotary movement which thereupon occurred. After the resetting of the dial blocks has been completed, as above described, the valve 86 is restored to its normal position, such normal position being illustrated more especially in Figs. 32 and 3 1, whereupon the automatic selective control valve 11 is restored to its normal operative connections.

I do not wish to be restricted to the specific embodiment shown in the drawings and described above, except as described in the appended claims.

WVhat I claim is:

1. In an automatic piano, the combination with a perforated music sheet having a plurality of separate selections, of winding drums for winding said sheet in either of two opposite directions, means for operating said drums to wind said sheet forwardly or backwardly, and selective controlling means for said operating means comprising relatively movable cooperative members, one of said members being set by hand to determine the selection to be played, and the other mem her being operatively connected with said music sheet for continuous rotation to move said second member into operative relation with said first member to permit the desired selection to be played.

2. In an automatic piano, the combination with a perforated music sheet having a plurality of separate selections, of winding drums for winding said sheet in either of two opposite directions, means for operating said drums to wind said sheet forwardly or backwardly, and pneumatic selecting controlling means for said operating means comprising relatively movable cooperative members having ports capable of communication when brought into operative relation, one of said members being set by hand to determine the selection to be played, and the other member being operatively connected to said music sheet for continuous rotation to move said second member into operative relation with said first member to permit the desired selection to be played.

3. In an automatic piano, the combination with a perforated music sheet having a'plurality of separate selections, of winding drums for winding said sheet in either of two opposite directions, means for operating said drums to wind said sheet forwardly or backwardly, selective controlling means manually adjustable for determining the selection to be played and controlling the movement of said sheet toward the position necessary to play said selections, means for operating said drums to wind said sheet forw'ardly to play after said position has been reached, said last named means being actuated by said controlling means, means for automatically cutting said selective controlling means out of operative connection with said operating means when the last selection on the sheet has been played, and means for causing said operating means to rewind said sheet to the beginning and play the selectionson said sheet in rotation after said selective controlling means has been cut out.

l. In an automatic piano,the combination with a perforated music sheet having a plurality of separate selections, of winding drums for winding said sheet in either of two opposite directions, gear wheels attached to said drums, a shiftable gear wheel, means for driving said shiftable' gear wheel, an idler gear wheelmeshing with one of said drum gears, means for moving said shiftable gear into operative relation with either said idler gear or with the gear on the other of said winding drums, means for yieldably retaining said shiftable gear in eitherof said positions, means having a tendency to move said shiftable gear to an intermediate position, and means for retaining saidshiftable gear in either of said positions. 7

'5. In an automatic piano, the combina-. tion with a perforated music sheet having a plurality of separate selections, of winding drums for winding'said sheet in either of two opposite directions, gear wheels a"- tached to said drums, a shiftable gear wheel, means for driving said shiftable gear wheel,

' an idler gear wheel meshing with one of said 7 drum gears, means "for moving said shiftable gear into operative relation with either said idler gear or with the gear on the other of said winding drums, means'for yieldably retaining said shiftable gear in either of said positions, meanshaving a tendency to move said shiftable gear to an intermediate position, means for retaining said shiftable gear in either ofsaid positions, and means for removing said retaining means and permitting said shiftable gear to move to said intermediate position.

speed winding means, means for cutting out of action said selective controlling means when the last selection on said sheet has been played, and means independent of said selective controlling means forrewinding said sheet to the beginning thereof and playing said selections in rotation. i

V 7. In an automatic piano, incombination with a perforated music sheet having a plurality of separate selections, means for winding said sheet forwardly at high speed, means for winding said sheet backwardly at highspeed, means for winding said sheet forwardly at low speed, a selective control ling valve comprising two cooperative members having coacting surfaces in contact, one of said members being adjustable by hand to a position which determines the se lection to be played, the other member being operably connected to said music sheet to contmuously rotate sa1d member relatively to sa1d first'member, sa1d first member having a port leading to and controlled by said music sheet, said second member having two elongated ports either of which is connectible with said'port in saidfirst member, one of said elongated ports being connected with a source of suction supply, a valve mechanism controlling said forward winding means and controlled by said elon-' gated port, the other of said elongated ports being connected with said supply, and a valve mechanism controlling said backward winding means and controlled by said last said music sheet, the other of said members being operablyfconnecte'd to said music sheet to continuously rotate said member relatively to said first member, said second mem ber having two elongated ports either of 

